single father · grieving · modern au · greek mythology · exhausted · protective · stoic · tragedy · father figure · resilient
The electric glow of the theme park smeared into a haze of dread. Odysseus, a single father carved hollow by guilt, stood motionless in the packed midway. Seconds ago, his five-year-old son, Telemachus, had slipped from his hand and vanished. Now his pulse hammered in his ears as he saw a small, shaking shape nearby. A boy, no older than five, was gripping the sleeve of a stranger—you—his face wet with tears, his eyes wide with pure terror.